Cookies
by gaaraisawesome
Summary: Temari and Kankuro make a bet to see who's better in making cookies, and Gaara's the judge. This leads on to a chain of events involving their friends in Konoha, and a change in weight.
1. The Bet

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the anime and manga series _Naruto_.

*Set on the time after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, and before Shippuden.

**Translations:** A _kotatsu_ is a low, wooden table covered by a futon (heavy blanket). It has a heat source underneath, and it's used almost exclusively in Japan. _Oneesan_ is the polite way to address one's older sister. _Otoutosan_ is the polte way to address one's younger brother.

* * *

Kankuro was seated in the kitchen at the kotatsu table, sipping his tea. It was one of those rare occasions where he woke up earlier than Temari. He didn't like waking up first, though. It meant _he_ had to prepare breakfast.

Gaara entered the kitchen without any sound. He kept his eyes on the many jars displayed on the counter.

"Morning, Gaara," Kankuro greeted.

His little brother turned his gaze to him, said a polite "Good morning," and turned his gaze back at the jars. He walked to the front of the counter, and looked at each jar. It looked like he was looking for something, though he was trying not to make it obvious.

Kankuro watched him for a few minutes, and then finally asked, "You looking for something?"

"...Yes," Gaara replied.

"What're ya looking for?"

"..."

At that moment, Kankuro realized that Gaara was looking for the cookie jar. He smirked at the thought. Gaara didn't like admitting his appetite for cookies, nor did he like asking where the cookie jar was, or if there were any cookies left. He'd simply help himself to some.

Why?

It was completely out of his personality. Having been a psychopathic killing machine in the past, who would ever suspect that Gaara of the Desert, the Ultimate Weapon of Sunagakure, would have a sweet tooth for _cookies_?

"The cookie jar's beside the stove," Kankuro said, mentally noting that the cookie jar had to be labeled. "...We're all out of cookies, though."

As soon as the words left Kankuro's mouth, Gaara's shoulders visibly slumped, and it seemed as if his body went limp. Kankuro became amused and almost burst out laughing. He worked to keep it in, though. Gaara had control over his temper now, but not _complete_ control. Besides, Kankuro didn't like it when Gaara was pissed at him. It felt creepy.

"Don't worry," Kankuro continued, still smiling, "I'll tell Temari to go to the market and buy some." With that, he stood up, left his teacup beside the sink, and headed up the stairs to Temari's room.

"Temari," he said as he slid the door open and poked his head inside. His sister was sitting on the floor, reading a scroll about a new wind jutsu. She looked up, looking slightly annoyed.

"What?"

"We're all outta cookies."

"So? What do you want me to do about it?"

"Go buy some."

Temari gritted her teeth, her temper rising. She cared for her brothers, of course, but they- well, Kankuro always relied on her too much, when he could do things on his own.

"We have two packs of different types of cookie mix in one of the cupboards. I didn't know which one Gaara prefers, so I bought two. Choose one and bake that," she said acidly.

Kankuro grinned a mischievous grin, and, being Kankuro, decided to insult his sister's culinary skills.

"Sure," he said casually, shrugging. "I bet Gaara would absolutely _love_ it."

Temari's eyes flickered back to her brother. "You're using that tone again. What're you saying?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Ohh, nothing. Just that I can make better cookies than _you_ can." Kankuro grinned at her and winked.

Temari turned red in both anger and embarrassment. How _dare_ he insult her culinary skills? She was a decent cook, knowing all the basics. She cooked their food, yet her brother was insulting her cooking? She considered letting Kankuro starve.

"I bet that Gaara will throw up as soon as he swallows your cookies," she spat at him.

"I bet you're gonna burn the cookie mix _while_ they're still in the oven," Kankuro shot back. Both of them were staring at each other with eyes like daggers. After what seemed like forever, Temari broke the silence.

"Let's have a bet, shall we?" she said as she stood up.

Kankuro's grin grew more mischievous. "Alright, _oneesan_, I'm up for it."

Temari's anger and frustration grew and grew upon hearing the word _'oneesan'_, as both knew Kankuro used the polite way of addressing someone only when he wanted to frustrate or annoy them.

"Since I bought two types of cookie mix, you and I will have a cookie-baking contest. Gaara's the judge."

"You're on! I am _so_ gonna win this thing."

"Don't be so smug, _otoutosan_. Remember the last time you tried baking something?"

The memory played in Kankuro's head. He was twelve years old, and he had the belief back then that he was good at anything. So, Temari told him to bake a cake for her. But he left the mix in the oven too long and pretty soon; the mansion was filled with the scent of something burning. Kankuro got a good scolding after that.

"Shut up! I was distracted back then, okay!"

Temari laughed and followed her brother out the doorway. They went downstairs and found Gaara reading a book about Suna's history.

"Hey Gaara," Temari called, barely looking at him, as she walked to the kitchen. Gaara looked up to see a determined-looking Temari, followed by a smug Kankuro. He watched them, and put on the what-are-you-two-up-to-_now_ expression. Kankuro answered his unspoken question.

"Temari and I made a bet. We're gonna see who's the better cookie-maker by making cookies and letting you be the judge," he explained. Gaara's eyes widened a little in surprise. He expected the bet to be something like 'Who is the fastest runner?' or anything that tested endurance and strength. They _were_ Temari and Kankuro, after all. Gaara said nothing, and went back to reading the book.

Kankuro proceeded to the kitchen and found Temari preparing all the necessary baking materials. They had enough materials for two. Kankuro wondered why they had so much baking materials, and then remembered that Temari once had this sudden burst of determination to bake, and so she bought more than enough materials. However, as soon as she looked into the recipe book, she lost all her interest.

Since there were two types of cookie mix, each sibling got the mix they preferred to bake. Soon enough, the pouring, measuring, mixing, and taste-testing began.

* * *

**Author's Note:** New story _again_! -) I'm sorry if this story sucks, guys. While making it, I wasn't really that... motivated. :| So yeah. Please tell me if it's a good one or not, cos if most of you guys say it's not, then I'll take it out then edit it. :D Again, I dunno when I'll be able to edit. I've been lacking motivation lately. Sorry. :( Excuse the bad grammar as well. As I said, I lacked motivation while making this chapter.


	2. They Didn't Turn Out Right

Temari decided not to follow the classic soft and chewy chocolate-chip type of cookies. Instead, she decided to make molded peanut butter cookies. She took out the recipe book, gathered all the ingredients, and began. Meanwhile, Kankuro wanted to do the classic type; the chocolate-chip cookies would melt and mix with the dough as it baked in the oven. He finished first, since Temari's took more time to do. He popped it into the oven, set the time, and pretty soon, the tempting scent of chocolate chip-cookies filled the air, and it wafted all the way to the living room.

Gaara's head immediately snapped up as the delicious sent entered his nose. He stood up and went to the kitchen. Upon seeing his little brother in the kitchen doorway,

Kankuro immediately went in front of Gaara and blocked his path.

"Hey, now. This is a restricted area for now. Our cookies are in danger when you're here." Then he put on his mischievous grin again, and turned his head to his sister. "Oi, Temari. See this? Gaara's mouth is practically watering by the smell of _my_ cookies. What more if he tastes them, ne?"

"He'll spit 'em out, that's what," she countered as she kept her eyes on the cookbook.

Kankuro rolled his eyes and looked back at his brother. "Alright, I know you're excited to taste our cookies. But you gotta stay somewhere else. We'll call you as soon as we're done."

Gaara narrowed his eyes at his older brother, his yes unblinking.

"What?" Kankuro asked, feeling a bit self-conscious.

"Never mock my appetite for cookies. The knowledge of my like for cookies will remain in this house and this house alone. Understood?"

The whole thing made Kankuro want to laugh so badly, but he did well in keeping his poker face on. "Sure," he responded.

Gaara shifted his eyes at his sister. "Temari?"

"Understood, Gaara," she replied as well.

Without another word, Gaara turned around and left the kitchen. Kankuro faced Temari with a _huge_ grin on his face. Seeing her brother's facial expression, Temari smiled as well. The two burst out laughing. After sharing a laugh, Kankuro took a seat at the kotatsu table, placing his elbow on the table top so he could rest his head on his hand. Five minutes passed, and his eyelids began to droop. 'No!' he shouted in his head as soon as he realized how tired he was. 'I _can't_ fall asleep. I can't let Temari win.' Fifteen minutes passed, and Kankuro's eyes felt heavier. He soon forgot about the cookies and leaned forward to rest his head on his arms. He fell asleep within minutes. 'Aww, look at my dear little Kankuro, sleeping like a baby,' Temari thought to herself. She snickered.

Kankuro woke with a start, sitting up straight immediately. He blinked several times to clear the blur off his eyes, and looked around. He realized he was in the kitchen. 'The kitchen... why am I... oh _crap_!' He went to the oven and turned it off, grabbed a holder from the table, and opened the oven door. The smell of something slightly burning greeted him. 'Crap,' he thought again. He took the tray out and placed it on the table. Seeing his cookies, he pointed a finger at his sister.

"You! How come you didn't even wake me up?" he demanded.

"Your cookies, your responsibility," Temari replied simply.

Kankuro became more pissed. "Take a look at my cookies! They're ruined all thanks to you!"

"Oi, don't go blaming it all on me! It's your fault you—" She stopped answering back as soon as she laid her eyes on Kankuro's cookies. She started laughing. They were deformed, and the melted chocolate spilled onto the tray. The edges were dark brown; completely different from the top parts of the cookies, which were golden brown. They didn't smell quite as appetizing as they did while they were in the oven; they smelled burnt.

"Are _those_ the cookies you were so proud of? It'd be a miracle if Gaara would even _agree_ to taste them!" Temari said in between giggles.

Kankuro resisted the urge to attach chakra strings to her tray and let her batter spill on the floor. He might end up in Suna's hospital.

"_Shut_ _up_," he said firmly. He was really pissed. Temari didn't say any more, for Kankuro could be quite dangerous as well if he was pissed. She scooped the last of her batter onto the cookie sheet and popped them into the oven.

She leaned on the counter and waited for her cookies to bake. She was thinking about apologizing to her brother for laughing at him. She _did_ feel bad about it. "Sorry for laughing at you, Kankuro," she finally apologized. The guilt welled up inside her ever since Kankuro told her to shut up.

"Yeah, that's alright," her brother replied impassively.

She sighed. He was still pissed. Ten more minutes passed, and her peanutbutter molded cookies were finally done. She took then out from the oven and placed the tray next to Kankuro's.

"What the—" she started to say, but was interrupted by Kankuro's boisterous laughter.

"Yours are worse than mine! Just look at them!" he managed to say.

Truly, Temari's cookies didn't look any better than Kankuro's. They too had meaningless shapes, and didn't look very appetizing. They were bulky and looked hard to chew.

Kankuro taste-tested one. "Man, this is hard to chew, Temari. Not only that, but they look like dog crap."

"Take that back," Temari threatened, reaching for a pan.

"Ok, ok! I take it back!"

Temari sighed. "Alright, time for the moment of truth, Kankuro. It's time for Gaara to taste and judge our cookies."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yay, Chapter 2's out! Sorry for any errors you find in this chapter. Again, I lacked motivation while making this. :| Thanks to all you guys who read, reviewed and liked it! OH AND BY THE WAY: this story will have a sequel! So, heads up! ;)


	3. Completely Unexpected

**Note**: Yakiniku is a Japanese term which, in its broadest sense, refers to grilled meat dishes. Source: Google. :)

* * *

Temari slid open the door of the kitchen and went to the living room, Kankuro close behind her. They found Gaara sitting on the couch, still reading the history book. He looked up as soon as his siblings entered the room.

"I assume that you two are done?" he said.

"Yeah," the two older siblings replied.

"Alright, bring them in."

"Hold on," Temari said suddenly. "You might be biased, so we'll have to blindfold you first before bringing our cookies in." Hearing this, Kankuro cracked a smile.

Gaara's brows furrowed, obviously not pleased by the thought of being blindfolded. "No," he replied bluntly.

"C'mon Gaara, you'll be blind for only about a minute," Kankuro joined in.

Gaara didn't say anything. He just stared at his siblings. Had they not improved their bonds, Temari would be frozen and holding her breath under his stare, while Kankuro would mutter "brat" in his mind. Kankuro, in his mind, randomly thanked Uzumaki Naruto for transforming Gaara to the better person he is now.

"Get blindfolded, or we won't let you taste our cookies," Temari broke the silence.

_'Nice one, Temari,'_ Kankuro thought. _'Gaara'll give in to that.'_

True enough, the redhead did. "Fine. But speak of this to no one."

The two older siblings went back to the kitchen, trying to keep from laughing out loud. They always found it funny that Gaara can be so easily manipulated by a pastry. It wasn't funny if Gaara caught them laughing, though. It would be painful. They each took their respective trays and headed for the living room again. "Mine will go first," Temari mouthed to Kankuro. He nodded.

They set down their trays on the table, and Kankuro raced up the stairs to get a blindfold. He was back seconds later, a piece of black cloth in his hand. Gaara eyed it with annoyance, like how an adult would look a child having a tantrum. "Here we go, Gaara," Kankuro said as he came nearer to him. He had the blindfold stretched and ready to be tied. With a grunt, Gaara leaned forward a little, letting Kankuro tie the blindfold, securing it with a tight knot.

"No using your Third Eye," he joked. Temari hit him in the arm, giving him a shut-up-or-Gaara-will-get-pissed look while doing so.

"Alright," Temari said before Gaara could comment on Kankuro's joke, "get ready for the first cookie!" She chose the least-bulkiest-looking cookie from her batch, and put it into Gaara's waiting mouth. He took a bite and chewed it- loud, cracking sounds sounded in the process. Temari frowned, remembering Kankuro's comment on how hard it was to chew. Gaara finally swallowed. A full minute of silence passed.

"Do you have any comment on it, Gaara?" Temari asked.

"Next," was all Gaara said, and opened his mouth once more.

Kankuro grinned, took a cookie from his batch, and did the same procedure Temari did. Gaara chewed and swallowed once more. "Well Gaara, what do you think?" Kankuro asked.

Slowly, Gaara untied the blindfold and looked at his siblings. They looked at him with questioning looks.

"I didn't like them. Not one bit," he said impassively.

Temari sighed. "Oh." She expected his answer, but she didn't like it when he actually said it. She mentally promised herself that she would exercise her skills in baking. Maybe next time, she'd beat Kankuro in another baking contest.

"What're we gonna do with these?" Kankuro looked at their cookies in despair. He definitely didn't want them in the fridge for the next few days. They didn't taste good, he knew, and he didn't want being forced by Temari to finish them.

"I'll take care of them," Gaara said simply, not minding the semi-shocked stares his siblings gave him after he said it.

"Oh, well that's very kind of you, Gaara," Temari said. She turned to Kankuro and sighed. "I guess none of us wins. What a waste of time and effort!"

"I know," Kankuro agreed. "Well... wanna spar in the training area?"

"Sure," Temari replied. "Now _there's _something I can beat you in."

"Ch."

The two older siblings headed for the door. "We'll be back before dark, Gaara," Temari called out before closing the door.

Gaara sat there with his eyes closed, and waited a full ten minutes before moving again. He made sure that his siblings were well off at the training grounds, that they didn't forget anything and have to come back to find him eating their cookies...

* * *

"Since when were you so good in substitution jutsus, Kankuro?" Temari asked him as she opened the door to their house. She was surprised at how much her brother had improved over the last few weeks.

"Heh, since I started training harder than you," Kankuro replied smugly.

"Ch, whatever," Temari replied, rolling her eyes and smiling. "Hm?"

The living room was completely dark, leaving them to rely on their heightened senses to navigate themselves around the area. Kankuro finally felt the light switch and turned it on. The living room looked neat and orderly; nothing out of place. Except...

Temari realized that Gaara was not in the room. "Odd," she said, speaking her thoughts, "Gaara usually stays downstairs and waits for us to get home."

Kankuro was just about to suggest that maybe their brother left as well, when he felt Gaara's chakra radiating from upstairs. His brotherly instincts started to kick in.

"I'll go see what's wrong with him," Temari informed Kankuro, and headed upstairs.

_'Temari's sisterly instincts are kicking in, too,'_ Kankuro thought as he watched her climb the flight of stairs.

She stopped in front of Gaara's door, and prepared herself before knocking. _'This is it, Temari. This is your chance to finally become a true older sister to Gaara.'_

She knocked three times on his door. "Gaara? May I come in?"

"No," Gaara's voice sounded from inside. Temari sighed.

"What's wrong? Did something happen while we were gone?"

"...No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Temari racked her brain for something a good sister would say. "Well, okay. Kankuro and I will be downstairs if you need us." _Stupid! That's not something a good sister would say!'_

Sighing once more at how pathetic her attempt was to become a good sibling, Temari turned and descended the stairs. "So what's wrong with him?" Kankuro's voice sounded from the kitchen.

Temari entered and found her brother snacking on yakiniku. She leaned on the counter and said, "He won't tell me."

"Aw, that's okay. The guy's in the age of adolescence. I'm sure he'll tell us soon enough."

_'Maybe you, but not me,'_ what was Temari wanted to say. Ever since Kankuro got closer to Gaara, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. She didn't want to admit it, though. It wasn't like her to do such things. "Hope so. Well, since I'm not hungry and you just finished our yakiniku, there's no need for me to cook. I'm going to take a shower, then go to bed." She turned and left.

* * *

Temari set her cup on the kotatsu table with a little more force than necessary. Kankuro stared at her, anticipating her outburst.

"That's it. It's been four days and Gaara has not set foot outside of his room. I'm going to tear his door down once I'm finished with breakfast."

Kankuro sighed. It was very Temari of her to say that. "You serious? Gaara gets pissed when we enter without his permission."

"But he hasn't left his room since four days ago! He hasn't eaten a thing! I'm sure 'cause I haven't felt his chakra _outside_ his room."

Kankuro wanted to protest, but he too was worried for Gaara. Yes, he knew Temari was worried for their brother. "Alright. I guess we have a valid reason why we should tear his door down."

After breakfast, the two went to stand in front of Gaara's door. Kankuro knocked three times. "Gaara, tell us what's wrong."

A minute of silence. And then: "No."

"Gaara, we're your siblings. You can tell us what's wrong," Temari joined in. _'Why didn't I say that four days ago?'_

"...Both of you promise you won't laugh?"

Both Temari and Kankuro were puzzled by his reply. "Of course not," Kankuro answered. "What would we laugh at?"

"Open the door, and you'll see."

They heard sound of moving sand as Gaara commanded it to unlock the door. Temari twisted the knob and opened the door to its limit. "G-G-Gaara?" From behind her, she heard Kankuro gasp audibly. "W-what happened to you?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Chapter 3 is OUT! Well, this story has a bit of drama involved, as seen when Temari wanted to reach out to Gaara, but wasn't able to. Hmm. Anyways, sorry for not updating on a daily basis. I really hope you guys like this one! :D Maybe one more chapter 'til the sequel. :


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